Strategic Management Case Writing: Suggestions After 20 Years of Experience‪.‬

Certainly there is no one best way to teach strategic management, the capstone business administration course at almost all four year colleges and universities. Professors who teach this course supplement lectures with simulations, guest speakers, experiential exercises, class projects, and outside readings. Case analysis, however, is typically the backbone of the learning process in most strategic management courses. This course is sometimes called business policy, but case analysis is almost always an integral part of the class. Analyzing strategic management cases gives students the opportunity to work in teams to evaluate the internal operations and external issues facing various organizations and to craft strategies that can lead to success. Working in teams gives students practical experience solving problems as part of a group. In the business world, important decisions are generally made within groups; strategic management students learn to deal with overly aggressive group members and also timid, noncontributing group members. This experience is valuable, for strategic management students near graduation and soon enter the working world full-time.